


cardigan

by gayassBenny



Series: folklore [2]
Category: My Babysitter's A Vampire
Genre: Alcohol, Benny and Jesse friendship supremacy, Christmas Party, Possibly Unrequited Love, god i dont even know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:54:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28325664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayassBenny/pseuds/gayassBenny
Summary: Benny goes home for the holidays and runs into an old friend
Relationships: Ethan Morgan/Benny Weir
Series: folklore [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874197
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	cardigan

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't posted anything in so long but here's my attempt at a christmas fic, posted almost too late but it's fine. this is also kind of a continuation of "the 1" but it can be read as a standalone thing

As Benny walked into Sarah's house, his breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t been home in over 5 years, not being able to justify the expense of flying to another country until now. He scanned the room for a familiar face, feeling severely under dressed in the sea of cheesy christmas sweaters. His grip tightened around the gift bag he had between his fist. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. He’d been there for almost a minute and he still hadn’t seen anyone he recognized. He just planned on dropping off his gift and leaving. Maybe he’d greet Sarah before making his escape, it was the polite thing to do. 

He made himself as small as he possibly could and scurried over to the large tree in the corner of the room. Just as he placed the gift under it a large hand fell on his shoulder. “Benjamin,” a voice said cheerfully behind him. A smile crept up on Bennys face. He would’ve recognized that voice anywhere. 

He whipped his body around, his eyes full of glee. “Jesse,” he said, wrapping the other man in a hug. 

They squeezed each other lightly before breaking apart. “I can’t believe you actually showed up, I figured you’d forgotten about us ever since your big break.” 

Benny rolled his eyes playfully. He and Jesse had sort of kept in touch, but he didn’t really talk to anyone anymore. Not even his old coworkers. It was just easier to isolate himself and focus on his work. “You would never let me forget about you.” 

Jesse laughed. “Even if I did, you wouldn’t be able to,” he replied. A smile crept up on Bennys face. “Hang on, I’ve gotta go do something. I’ll be back in like… 2 seconds tops.” 

Benny’s face fell. He opened his mouth to protest but Jesse was gone in a flash. He stood there floundering for a moment. He debated just going with his original plan and dipping but he didn’t want to leave Jesse hanging. He still hadn’t even greeted Sarah. He looked around awkwardly, his heart rate rapidly increasing. There was only one thing he could think of to do.

He made his way into the kitchen, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. When he entered, his eyes immediately fell on a bottle of grey goose on the counter. He immediately took it and started pouring shots into the nearest cup he could find, downing three or four of them in a row. 

“Jesus christ,” he heard from behind him. 

His heart sank. He slowly turned his head to see Ethan standing near the entrance. He wiped his mouth. “Hey E,” he said, a huge grin plastered on his face to hide his shame. 

Ethan shook his head. “I guess I'm glad the fame didn’t change you.”

He laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied. 

Ethan rolled his eyes but his mouth was stuck in a wide smile. “Yeah no, you’re right. Coming to a party and immediately sniffing out the alcohol before you even say hello to anyone is totally out of character.” 

Benny shrugged, pouring the bitter liquid into the mug again. He accidentally on purpose poured quite a bit more than a shot that time. “Exactly, I would never. I’ve been corrupted by the industry,” he said before downing the chemicals all in one go.

Ethan stared in a mix of disgust and amazement. “I still don’t know how you manage to do that.” 

He shrugged. “Practice, I guess.” 

“Are you at least gonna share?” Ethan asked.

Benny gave him a mischievous look. “I thought you didn’t drink.” 

Exasperation filled Ethans face. “Yeah, when I was in highschool.” 

He shrugged. “Right, sorry,” he said, handing the bottle to Ethan. 

He opened the cupboard above Benny’s head and pulled out a shot glass. “Do you want one of these or are you good with frosty?” He asked playfully.

Benny snorted. “I’m kind of attached to him now if I’m being honest.” 

“Of course you are,” Ethan replied. Benny’s stomach dipped. Was he flirting with him? Was this flirting? He couldn’t even remember what it was like. 

Benny nodded, panic filling him. “Yeah, you know. I… um...” Think think think, his brain screamed at him. He didn’t understand why he was so nervous, he’d already consumed a vile amount of alcohol and he and Ethan were… something. They weren’t really friends; they'd only talked once or twice since he’d moved. But they weren’t really exes either. They technically were but they’d ended on pretty good terms. There wasn’t anything to worry about. But he was. He was so worried his entire body was filled with fear. “Do you think Sarah would be mad if I took him home?” 

Ethan giggled. “Are you gonna stay long enough to ask her?” 

Benny’s brain broke again. Ethan wanted him to stay. He took the bottle back from Ethan. “I guess I have to,” he said, pouring another generous amount into the snowman mug. 

He tried to hide it, but Benny caught the beginning of a smile forming on Ethans face. I guess you do.” Benny nodded, he felt himself becoming oddly light and tingly. He handed the bottle back to Ethan and took a seat on the floor. Ethan looked at him, confused. “What the hell are you doing down there?” 

Benny laughed. “I’m sitting,” he said plainly. 

“Yes, you are,” Ethan said. He hesitated a moment before sliding down next to Benny. “Why are you sitting?” 

Benny shrugged. “I felt like it.” 

A laugh bubbled out of Ethan. He took a moment before saying anything, his eyes locked on Benny’s. “I missed you,” he said cautiously. 

A smile crept up on Bennys face. “I missed you too,” he said. 

Ethan almost looked surprised. His eyes widened for just a moment before his face melted into a look of content. “It hasn’t really been the same here without you,” He mumbled. 

“It hasn’t?” 

Ethan shook his head. “No. It’s like everywhere I look I see somewhere where you should be but you’re just not there and it just feels… it’s just empty here without you.” 

Benny gave him a puzzled look. “You do?” 

“Well, yeah. We grew up together here. Everything reminds me of you.” Benny took to bottle back from him and began drinking out of it. Ethan looked at him in disgust. “What the fuck,” he whispered. 

Benny lowered the bottle from his mouth, holding back a giggle. He figured Ethan had forgotten about him. He didn’t see why he wouldn’t. “I’m sorry,” he said bashfully. 

“It’s okay, I probably shouldn’t drink any more anyway.”

“No I… I’m sorry for leaving. I didn’t think you’d… remember me I guess.” 

“How could I forget?” he asked. ‘Everywhere I look it’s like, that’s where Benny and I played hide and seek when we were younger, that’s the street light Benny sat next to while I was trying to drag his drunk ass home. I can’t even go visit my parents without being reminded of you dancing in the living room or spending the whole weekend playing video games in my room. There’s not much room to forget when everything reminds me of you.” 

“Wow,” Benny breathed. “So… I guess I just thought it didn’t matter to you. Like everyone was always telling me it wasn’t real. Like I was too young to be… in love or whatever.” His eyes widened. “Not that like… I mean, I don’t know... I thought I was or whatever.” 

Ethan nodded. “No, I know. Everyone just assumed I didn’t know what I was talking about, but I did. I knew you and I knew that whatever we had was real. I knew it was gonna hurt when you left and it did. Jesus christ, it did. I knew you were gonna be stuck haunting all of my thoughts probably forever and so far I’ve been right about that. And maybe I didn’t know exactly what love was but. That was what I felt. I knew it way back then and I still know it now.” 

“Fuck,” Benny breathed, taking another sip from the bottle. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. 

“No, don't be sorry it’s…” he took a pause. “I was mad for a while, I knew I would be. I was sad and angry and I kinda blamed you but you had to do it. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t currently be a semi successful musician.” 

Benny laughed. “I wouldn’t even go that far. I have one song people listen to.” 

Ethan smiled. “But you’re getting there and I’m happy for you. And I always kind of… I don’t know, I guess I assumed you’d come back.” 

“You did?” Benny asked, a flush creeping up on his face. He blamed the alcohol. It was totally just because of the alcohol. 

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean most of it was just wishful thinking but I thought maybe one day we’d be back to kissing in my car and fucking around in the grocery line together. I mean. I don’t really think it’s possible now but, that was what I thought.” 

Benny tried to hide the way his stomach clenched but he could feel his face fall. “Yeah no. It’s… probably not.” 

Ethan nodded. Benny couldn’t tell what the hell was going on in his head but he wanted to more than anything he’d ever wanted in his entire life. He wanted to see inside of his brain. He wanted to know what he was thinking so badly. Was it really not possible for them? He thought it probably was after just one meeting, but everything felt so right when Ethan was around. He knew it was a pretty complicated situation but he still had hope. That didn’t matter, however, because apparently Ethan didn’t. 

Benny stood up. “I should probably go find Jesse. He told me not to move.” 

“Right. Yeah, totally,” Ethan said. “You should… yeah.” 

Bennys grip on the bottle tightened. “Yeah.” He stood up awkwardly. Taking a moment before walking away. He didn’t know what to do. Before, he thought maybe it was possible for him to just be Ethan’s friend. That any part in his life would be enough for him. But now he didn’t know. “Maybe I’ll see you around? I might… I think I might leave soon.” 

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly. “Right, yeah. Maybe we could… yeah maybe I’ll see you.” 

“Maybe,” Benny mouthed breathlessly. He turned around and started making his way towards the main room again, leaving Ethan alone on the cold hard floor.


End file.
